Practice Run

We had quite a scare this weekend. As many people know, my blood pressure was an issue when I had Luke. We thought we had it under control... at least until last week. I have had to keep a diary for my OB so I could properly monitor it and because we didn't want to have yet another early baby.

After 3 days of a slow increase, my doctor became very concerned that it was still increasing even when she changed my meds, so by Saturday night we were asked to check-in at the 3rd floor, Labor & Delivery, at Sequoia Hospital.

We were in Dublin visiting Riely and his 2 new teeth at the time of the call, so it was a mad dash to Sequoia from there. Brian was nervous, to say the least, and after a meltdown, we knew that Luke was not about to be left behind. Thank God I remained calm... someone had to! We made it to the hospital within half an hour and luckily for us Luke fell asleep because he was not allowed to stay overnight at the hospital with me. Is this what it's going to be like when I deliver???

As if we weren't nervous enough, they started asking us about what kind of delivery we wanted and if I was planning to breastfeed. As I watched the color drain from Brian's face, we were assured by the nurse that it was just procedure to ask all of the questions and we figured at least this way, when we do have Marlee, we will be ready to go!

So, the outcome?? No protein in urine and blood tests came back normal and after a horrible night of NOT sleeping due to the blood pressure machine going off every half hour, we were discharged on Sunday morning.

I am now seeing a cardiologist, so we'll see how this goes!

Luke's New Canvas

As soon as we got over our 12 week mark, we shared the news with Luke by taking him with us to our first Ultrasound. He was thrilled, to say the least, when he realized that he was about to become an older brother. To keep him involved, we have been taking him to appointments (when he's not in school), reading books and he even helped pick out her name (well, he thinks he did). I don't doubt that he will be a fantastic Kuya!

The other night, we thought we'd have some fun with my ever-growing belly. Luke brought out his washable markers and used my belly as a canvas. It was fun for all of us, especially Luke. I must be brave posting these bare pictures of my belly, but he was so proud of his work. The picture below is the finished piece :-) By the way, before you ask, "BOO ROCK" mean absolutely nothing. Just words Luke can write and spell on his own. I think he wanted to write "BOO" first, then "YOU ROCK", but he realized he didn't have enough room.










As far as an update, all is going great! This past Monday we had our 23 week check up and Marlee is doing well. Weight gain is still on track (for now) and she is moving like crazy as expected. She does the majority of her kicking between 12:30am and 2am....LUCKY ME!!!!

Halfway Mark

I promised someone that I would start blogging after we hit our 20 week mark and now that we have safely passed it, I have no other excuses left to put this off.

We are now going into our 22nd week and all is well. I must admit, I didn't expect how terrible I would feel the first 13 weeks, especially since I didn't get sick when I was pregnant with Luke. Now that the "all day sickness" is gone (morning sickness my a**), I am enjoying every moment of this pregnancy. I guess you could say that, because of the difference in first trimester symptoms, I had a feeling this one was going to be a girl. My feelings were confirmed about 2 weeks ago at our 20 week ultrasound... It's a GIRL!!! Luke was with us in our appointment and the first thing out of his mouth was: "I hate Barbies."

So far everything seems to be going great! My energy is up and I am trying to keep myself as healthy as I possibly can :-) The holidays can be a trick time to be pregnant, but I LOVE the cold weather!! Besides not being so hot all the time, there's nothing better than a winter clothing to hide any extra weight.

Other symptoms/frustrations?

• Weight gain seems to be on-track -- even though the picture may not show it :(
  
• Not really craving any 1 thing -- it changes by the week (just ask Brian)
• She is kicking up a storm...ALL DAY!! and ALL NIGHT!!! In fact, she is kicking now!
• Sleeping on the left side sucks!! I always start on the left, but I still wake up on my back and it feels so much better!
• Blood pressure could be better, but meds are definitely helping. It's remembering to take my meds that poses a problem.
  

If you don't already know, Luke is thrilled to be an older brother. He says good morning to my belly every morning and always sings a good night song to his baby sister. He has been given the honorary title of "Prego Police" because he is always telling me what I can or can't eat or what I am or I am not allowed to do. It's wonderful to watch his excitement, but his patience is growing thin. Every day he asks, "Is she coming out today?"